What are libraries really about? If libraries and librarians cannot compete with information technology giants like Google, how can they remain relevant to their communities of users? Crowley explores ways to understand how the general public and students view libraries. Bluntly stated, there is no longer any way that librarians and trustees can convince residents of local communities and members of college and university campuses that libraries are their primary information source. Given this reality, Crowley introduces the concept of lifecycle librarianship, offering a useful way of considering library roles and securing the necessary human and financial resources to carry them through. This presentation will encourage realistic and original thinking about the future of libraries and professional librarianship by redefining their primary roles from information suppliers to education providers and self-learning facilitators.

This study was undertaken to provide evidence that library outreach projects in the NHS in the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority area were effective and could justify continued funding. The major findings of this research are that training health-care personnel in the use of electronic resources impacts positively on their information literacy skills and confidence, and that the information available to them is considered to have potential value across health-care practice.

Journal references, abstracts and URLs of interest to health information professionals.

Important science websites are in danger of becoming buried in the " avalanche of facts" now available online, academics warned today.